Eyes That Met
by Tara Potter
Summary: Harry meets a girl named Tara on his way to Hogwarts. What's her secret? C&C appreciated!
1. Dear Miss Potter

A/N: This is my first try at a Harry Potter fanfic. I have always liked the idea of Harry having a sister but the plots I found weren't too great in my opinion. So I tried my own! My nickname for years has been Tara and I always thought it sounded like it would be a good name to go along with Harry! This is NOT me in the story I am just using my nickname. Please R&R and tell me what you think! --Tara Potter

Tara Lillian Potter was always a normal girl. She was 11 years old, small and slender, with untidy black hair that fell to the middle of her back and striking green eyes—everyone found her quite pretty. She lived in a middle class suburb of London where nothing out of the ordinary happened. Her parents, John and Linda, were a well to do couple with average jobs. She went to a respectable school and made average marks. In fact, her life was almost like everyone elses.

The only thing that was slightly unusual about Tara was that she was a foster child. She had lived with her foster parents for as long as she could remember...in fact Tara couldn't remember living anywhere else but her house. Her parents had made plans to adopt her for many moths but were waiting until the summer holidays. They didn't want Tara out of school constantly for legal matters. For Tara, it was worth the wait because she loved her parents more than anyone else in the world. They were all she had and she couldn't imagine life without them.

Tara thought her life would always be this way, quiet and normal forever, but she was about to be proven wrong.

That exciting day started just like all the rest. Tara got up at 6 on a Friday morning to get ready for another day at Hillshire Acadamey. Her morning routine never changed—she showered, put on her small amount of makeup (mascara and lip gloss), and put on her red and gray school uniform. After she combed her hair, which stayed messy no matter what she did and put it up in a pony tail, she followed the smell of breakfast cooking downstairs.

Her dad had laid out her breakfast for her, the same thing she ate every morning: a bowl of cereal, a glass of orange juice, and three slices of bacon. Tara's mother worked as a nurse at the hospital in London, and she had to be to work at 5 in the morning. When her mom was home, she would usually make pancakes and toast, but Tara enjoyed mornings with her father. "Thanks Daddy," she said as she began to eat.

After breakfast, Tara grabbed her schoolbag and coat. Tara loved her schoolbag, it was an 10th birthday present from her mother and father last year. It was khaki canvas with a leather strap and covered in pockets. Perfect for hiding things. "Tara L Potter" was embroidered on the flap in green, her favorite color. It wasn't anything special to the other children, but to Tara it held sentimental value. After all, she had spent 10 years with people who didn't have to take her in, but did and loved her anyway. She took a moment to trace the words with her finger before pulling on her black wool coat (it was still chilly in April) and kissing her father goodbye. Hillshire was only 10 minutes away from her house and Tara liked the exersise walking to school. She met with a good friend of hers, Megan along the way and the two finished the short walk together.

The school day was no more exciting than the morning. Tara took a Spanish test in first period. She was not sure if she had congugated the verbs correctly but she was confident she had done a fairly good job. She also played soccer in gym, which she was very good at, learned about simple machines and mechanics in science, learned about variables in math, and was quizzed on the different houses of Parliament in civics. It was an ordinary day for Tara. Luckily, her afternoon was about to get a bit more exciting.

Tara walked up the steps to her house and opened the mailbox. She pulled out the mail, which was mostly junk, and sorted through it halfheartedly. However, in her carlessness a letter fell from the pile and onto her foot. She picked it up and looked at it quizzically. The envelope was made of parchment and it was heavier than most letters. It was also quite thick—and it was addressed to her in green ink!

Miss Tara Potter

The Second Bedroom

Second Floor

London

"I got a letter?" Tara asked. "How weird. I never get mail." Tossing the other mail aside, she grabbed the letter opener from the coffee table and ripped the envelope open. The letter was in the same green ink, on the same parchment. A couple more pieces fell onto Tara's lap, she set them aside for later. She began to read the letter out loud to herself. "Dear Miss Potter, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She stopped after this line and stared, wondering if this was a joke. "Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment and ticket to the Hogwarts Express. Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl no longer than July 31st...my birthday?" she said dazedly.

Shaking her head, Tara tossed the letter aside. "It's a little late to be playing April Fools jokes! That was weeks ago!" she said angrily.

Suddenly, a large barn own zoomed down the chimney and dropped a small piece of parchment into her lap. Tara screamed as the owl circled her head and clipped her head with its wing, then back up the chimney. With shaking hands Tara picked the parchment up to read one sentence written in loopy writing: "This is not a joke." She let the paper fall to the floor in confusion. "Its not?"

Later that night at dinner, Tara showed the letter to her parents. She expected them to be in shock, call it a joke, but they did nothing of the sort. True they were surprised, but Tara suspected they were only pretending. "Well, Tara, I have to admit that this is highly unusual," her mother said, reading over the letter and supply list. "But it certainly doesn't look like a joke. I guess we'll have to go into the city to buy your supplies tomorrow." "But how?!" said Tara. "Where in the world are we going to get some of these things? A wand? Books? DRAGON SKIN?! I don't think any of the stores in London are going to carry these things!" "We'll find a way," said her father, winking.

The next morning everyone woke up early. They took a subway into the middle of London, and ate breakfast at the station. It was about 10 by the time they reached their destination, a rather dumpy looking place called The Leaky Caldron. Tara looked at it curiously. "What a dump," she said. "Is THIS where we're going shopping?" Her parents didn't answer.

Inside, the place was dingy, dirty, and smoky. People inside gave Tara strange looks, and she hid behind her mother. "Mom, I hate this place!" she whispered. "Don't worry Tara, we aren't going to be here long," her mother said. They stayed near the front door while her father walked to the bar and began talking to a man. He showed the man a piece of paper and talked a bit more. After a few minutes, he waved his hand and said "Come on."

They followed the man through the Leaky Caldron and out a back door. They ended up in an alleyway, with nothing but a brick wall and some trashcans. "Wait, what's going on—"Tara began. The man held up his hand and said "Watch." From inside his sleeve he took out what looked like a large stick and began counting the bricks. When he found what appeared to be the right one he tapped it three times. Suddenly, the bricks began to shift and change, and in a matter of seconds, and archway appeared where there was none.

"There you are, folks. Diagon Alley," the man said, extending his arm into the archway. Tara gasped. She had never seen a place like it. People walked down a small cobblestone road wearing cloaks and robes with bags and large packages walking in every direction. There were shops everywhere, and children ran through the street like it was nothing. It was an amazing place. Tara and her family stepped out into the alley, and the archway behind them disappeared.

After exchanging their money at the bank, most of the supplies could easily be found. Books, robes, a cauldron, Tara had no problems getting. However, the wand was the last on the list and Tara looked at it questioningly. "How in the world are we going to get a wand? What, do we just find a stick and ask them to bless it or what?" she asked. "No, I do believe we just go there," her mother said pointing behind Tara.

Tara whirled around. A sign above the store in peeling letters read Ollivadners. Wands of all kinds lay in the window upon faded silk cushions. The three walked into the store with a small tinkly bell announcing their arrival.

The store was incredibly musty inside. Tara saw boxes lining the walls, and a counter in front empty. All of a sudden, a man with frizzy gray hair and matching eyes appeared from behind a shelf, and he smiled as he saw Tara and her parents. "Ah, hello. Here for a wand I assume?" he said, shaking her parents hands. It was strange how he never seemed to need to blink.

"Yes, that's right," her father said. "Tara here is starting her first year at Hogwarts. It was quite a surprise to us." The man turned his unblinking stare onto Tara. "Aahhh, Muggle born, are you?" Her mother shook her head. "No, not quite." Tara looked up to her mother. "Muggle?"

No one answered her question. The man, who introduced himself as Mr. Ollivander walked to the back of the store and returned with an armful of long, thin boxes. He opened one and pulled out a wand, looking at it for a moment and handing it to Tara. "Here we are. Twelve inches, holly with phoenix feather and dragon heartstring. Good and springy." Tara looked at Mr. Ollivander, to the wand, and back. "W.what do I do? I've never done anything like this before."

"Just give it a wave," he said, waving his hand through the air. Tara did so, and a jet of gold light shot from the tip and knocked a few boxes from the shelf. "Ah, no, that's not it. Here, try this. Ash with dragon heartstring and unicorn hair. Ten inches, swishy." Tara waved it slightly and nothing happened. Again, another wand was shoved into her hand. "Fourteen inches, maple with phoenix feather and unicorn hair. Swishy again. This might work." Tara took this one and felt a great surge of energy rush through her. The tip of her wand crackled with energy and emitted red and blue sparks. It lasted for a split second then ended. "Yes, that's it!" cried Mr. Ollivander.

About five minutes later, the wand was wrapped in its box and tucked into a bag in Tara's new caldron. Their shopping was complete, but Tara's parents were still looking at the list. "What's wrong? I thought we were done," said Tara. "Well technically we are, but the list says you can bring a cat, owl, or toad with you," said her mother. "And we were thinking about buying you an animal for your birthday. As an early present."

Tara gasped. "Really? Oh thank you! I'd love one!" Eagerly she made her way towards the Pet Emporium, staring into the windows at the various assortment of cats and owls, rats and toads. At first her mind was set on getting a cat, until she saw the section of owls. They were so beautiful, and even though she wasn't sure why witches and wizards kept owls as pets, she still liked them. She picked out a small cream-colored owl with gray eyes. "I'm going to name it Athena, since Athena had gray eyes in mythology," she explained to her parents.

After they left the Pet Emporium, all three decided that it was time to head home. They all had had a very long day and were ready to have dinner. However, Tara was actually counting down to the day she had to leave. Maybe she would actually have an exciting experience at Hogwarts.

To be continued.


	2. Platform 9 and ¾

A/N: I had so much fun writing the first chapter (fixing it up and stuff) that I decided to write the second chapter today! It might be a little short but I hope you enjoy  
  
The rest of the month flew by so quickly with Tara taking care of Athena and excited about her trip to Hogwarts that September came quicker than she expected. Before she knew it, she was loading her trolley with her trunks and cage at the train station. Her mother was crying slightly because her baby was going to be gone for 9 whole months! Tara found it very weird that her parents had not gone crazy at the thought of her being a witch. Most of her friends parents would have had a heart attack or cast them out of the house. Why had they acted like they were pretending when she read them her letter? On the other hand, now she could actually have a "real" summer holiday. None like the ones she had at Hillshire which were from April to July. She always had to go to school on her birthday, which was never fun. Too bad that Tara now had to wait a little longer to be adopted.  
  
"Now, you be good. Make us proud," said her father in a choked voice, pulling Tara into a one-armed hug. Her mother sniffled and smiled, hugging Tara tightly. Tara smilled and looked up at them. "I will, Daddy and Mommy! I can't wait to come back and show you what I've learned!" She waved goodbye to her parents and turned around, getting ready to walk onto the platform 9 and ¾. Suddenly she realized that the platform was 9 and ¾. She didn't see it anywhere in the station! How was she going to get on to her train if she didn't even know where her platform was? -Uh-oh,- thought Tara. She stood in her spot for a moment, trying not to panic. -What am I going to do now?!- Suddenly a loud irritated voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "This place is packed with Muggles of course! Come on, Ginny!"  
  
-Muggles.I remember that word,- Tara thought. She looked around for the voice and saw a squat red-haired woman with a bunch of kids who looked just like her. One of the boys in the group caught Tara's eye however. Unlike the others, he had messy black hair just like hers, and green eyes hidden behind broken glasses. Tara's eyebrows raised at the resemblence. He looked a lot like her, except for the glasses. She only needed them for reading. Still, it was an eerie coincidence. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind—there were probably a lot of black-haired, green eyed kids at Hogwarts—and concentrated on the group heading towards the barrier. Suddenly, 2 of the boys began to ran towards the barrier and disappeared into it! -So that must be how you get onto platform 9 and ¾,- Tara thought.  
  
She waited until the whole lot had disappeared into the barrier, and prepared herself. She started running, closing her eyes and preparing for a large crash, but amazingly she didn't. Tara opened her eyes and found herself on a whole new platform, smiling at her accomplishment. There were many other students walking around, talking to others and their parents, loading bags onto the train and just milling around. Tara began walking around, looking at everything in wonder. She didn't realize that she wasn't looking where she was going and crashed into someone else's trolley. Athena and another owl screeched loudly as trunks spilled everywhere.  
  
"Oh no! I'm so sorry!" Tara cried as she hurriedly bent down to pick up her turnks and cage. "That's all right," she heard someone else say as they bent down to help her. Tara looked up, and gasped slightly. It was the boy she had seen in the red-headed group! The one who looked a lot like her! He had finished gathering his things and looked up, and his eyes caught Tara's. She blushed as they looked at each other for a split second before the train whistle sounded and brought her back to reality. "Oh, I've got to go! Again I'm sorry!" she said, still blushing as she ran off with her trolley. She hurried away to load her luggage onto the train.  
  
A tall red-haired boy came up behind the other one. "Harry, who was that?" "I don't know, Ron," he said. "She looked a lot like me, though. Same eyes and everything." Ron grinned. "You think she fancies you? She was blushing!" Harry shook his head and grabbed his trunk. "Don't be ridiculous. I don't even know her!"  
  
-Who was he?- thought Tara as she found a seat on the train. -I've never seen him before in my life. But.when I caught his eye, I felt like I'd known him before. Like from a long time ago.- She shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous. It's just a coincidence, I've seen people who have looked like me before! How could I have known him?" She pulled out her glasses and a book as the train began to move, and settled down to read.  
  
About 45 minutes later, the door to the compartment rolled open, and a girl with frizzy brown hair looked in. "Excuse me, but I was just wondering.have you seen a toad by any chance? A boy named Neville's lost it." Tara looked up from her book and shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. But I'll keep my eye open." The girl smiled in thanks. "Thank you. By the way, I'm Hermoine Granger." "I'm Tara Potter," said Tara.  
  
"Tara, I'm sorry to run, but I've other compartments to ask about Neville's toad," said Hermione. "No problem," said Tara. She waved and turned back to her book as Hermione shut the compartment door and walked away.  
  
As Hermione walked down the hallway to the next compartment, she couldn't help but think. -Pretty odd,- she thought. -She has the same last name as the boy I asked just a few minutes earlier. What was his name…Harry Potter?- 


End file.
